June 30, 2006

I feel like I'm living outside my body, watching everything happen around me. It's been such an absolutely BUSY time these school holidays. Chelsea has had lots of extra Calisthenics classes and Ballet competitions (that seem to involve lots of sitting around twiddling thumbs waiting to go on stage - doh!). I've been flat out at the shop every day and desperate to get the newsletter out. The final few newsletters left the shop this afternoon - Hooray - I hope there aren't too many people upset about missing the stocktake sale - Boo! I'm planning to have another clear out after I finish the stocktake, so if you can't get to the shop this Saturday, there will be another chance to catch some bargains in the next few weeks.

Chels' and I are going to Calisthenics Camp at Portsea this weekend. We have to be at camp at 8.45am tomorrow morning!!! We are staying overnight (I'll be sewing my little fingers to the bone!) but we have to take a little side trip back to Frankston tomorrow afternoon for a Ballet comp' and then back to Portsea. We finish at 3pm Sunday - I am hanging out for 6pm Sunday night (I'll be asleep!!).

Anyway, I have to apologise for not keeping my blog up to date lately, hopefully life will return to normal after this weekend.

See you on the other side!

PS. Here's one of my recent LO's I've added to the album. This was one of the 4 in 4 class layouts. It took me ages to find these shots of H&C together and of course I found much better photos a few days later! (kay serah serah!)

June 15, 2006

I'v got exactly five minutes to post before I have to pick Chels up from the Physio and deliver her to ballet dress rehearsal and tonight I have to stay and watch (all I really want to do is curl up in the corner and sleep)!

The Xyron Lauch this morning was MASSIVE!!! It was so god to see the shop full to bursting point with happy people, not to mention all the scrummy food (I've been eating ALL day). Thanks everyone for coming along and making it such a success. I know you all LOVED seeing the Personal Cutter machine - I told you it was cute!

I forgot to take photos during the demo, so here's a couple of shots of the tiny make and take project we made.

June 14, 2006

Today I am going to feature the projects I made in class with Sarah and Layle from Scenic Route. You know how much I love this company's products and I love, love, love the colors and designs in the Charlotte and North Shore collections!

In my first class, we created this stunning album. It is a HUGE project, but I was determined to finish it before I came home, so I tackled it in the hotel room for about five extra hours until I ended up making some of the inside pages up myself. This one is definitely going to be on our next class schedule. It's called "Life's Lessons" so watch for it on the next calendar. btw Willisa, I hope you appreciate all the little flowers I hand cut from patterned paper for the front cover.

It's a FAT little book which will be even fatter once I put all the photos and memorabilia in it (hmmm...might have to take a few pages out). Can't get a good shot of both sides of the album, so here is the left side view.

In my next class, we altered chipboard letters with paint, paper and dimensional glaze that was really thick. I can't remember what it was called, I remember that my hand hurt from squeezing the bottle by the time I'd covered all the letters though. I really enjoyed this class and I love the color combo of the papers. Can't hardly wait to slap some photos on and scribble a few words on the journaling strips.

This last project is from the class I wagged!!!! Well it started at 8am and it was the last day and breakfast was included in our room cost. I was only sorry that I was wagging a Scenic Route class and not a Daisy D's one. Honestly, the DD classes were a bit dissapointing. It was pretty much a case of here's your products, now go make something with them. I hate that, when I'm paying $65 for a class I expect a little more instruction. AND thinking up things for myself is what I do all the time, so sometimes it's nice to have a break from that, to just be told what to do. To be fair the DD girls had prepared their instructions on overheads and they weren't given an overhead projector - not sure who's fault that was, but surely the instructions could have been photocopied!)

I know what I'll be doing at Crop night this week!

Now I must go and process the three boxes of Making Memories products that arrived this afternoon! Home Decor 8" Chipboard letters, woohoo!

June 13, 2006

It's just that I had such a fabulous time while I was away!! I met some lovely people...hello to Cindy from Scrappe Angels in Werribee, Katherine from Ulladulla NSW, Heidi from Scrappy Hollow in Croydon and Linda from Perth, it was a pleasure to meet such lovely people and I hope to hear from you all soon. I also caught up with my dear friend (and old boss) Angie from Scrapbook Magic in Ringwood, it was so fun to see her again. Unfortunately I gave the camera to Peter and Harry while I was at the conventions so I didn't get a chance to take photos, but my new friend Linda has promised to send a photo of us working together in class, so I will share that one when it arrives.

Before I go on I must say....CONGRATULATIONS! to Cindy, Elliot and Toby on the safe arrival of baby Kadewho was born early this morning. WOOHOO!

Now, back to Brisbane. Today I'm sharing with you some of the items I made in my Daisy D's classes:

This project is a fat little accordian book created with the 'Girlfriends' range, I just love these funky colors and the diecut flowers are so cool!

The whole thing opens right out in an accordian fold so you end up with 14 pages (not finished yet - of course).

This BLANK layout was created with papers, rubons and accents from the 'Sidewalk Chalk' range. I'm not very pleased with the title which was cut from one of the papers, so will probably change that before I finish it. I Love, love, love, Daisy D's rub-ons ('Dare to be Remarkable')! They are so lovely and work like a dream everytime, I even rubbed some off with just my fingernail! I plan to make this LO about Chelsea's first ever experience of travelling alone to Brisbane, but that title has to GO!

This is a little handbag album kit we made in the Sidewalk Chalk range (again). It would be a very cute project for young girls as it goes together SO easily!

I also made this sweet little album with the 'Attic Heirloom' collection of diecuts, stickers, chipboard, papers and rub-ons. Heidi (from Scrappy Hollow) and I decided to do our own thing and assemble the book with the folded edges and patterned side out and we created a couple of pockets too! I have to brag that Melisa and Jodi from Daisy D's were very impressed with my treatment of the frame on the front cover. I used a combination of chipboard, rub-ons and the negative from a diecut to create a 3d effect.

Here's a peek at the inside. Heidi invented the diecuts as tabs idea and I copied - but she didn't mind. It's a sweet book the covers are joined with pretty trim....expect this class at the boutique next term!

June 12, 2006

Sorry no pictures to upload yet of all the cool stuff I've been doing in Queensland for the past few days. I'll try to get some on the blog tomorrow.

We arrived at about 10 this morning. Stopped off at the Searle's house for a lovely cuppa and freshly baked cake (I don't know how Susan does that? I never have cake ingredients on hand for surprise guests). We wished their dog Lucy a happy birthday, picked up our spoiled puppy, even though Bowie looked so much at home there. We were desperate to see him again and there's nothing quite so sad as coming home to a house with no pets AND no HEAT!

While we were there, Susan and I had a session of 'show and tell'. She has made a really cool "week in my life" (inspired by Ali Edwards) album with Bookworks products. I'm dying to make one myself now and you will be too. It will be on display at the shop for the next few weeks, so check it out next time you're in.

Honestly, it feels like I've been away for way longer than six days! I snuck down to the shop this afternoon (in my moccies, no less!) to sift through the email and pick up my snail mail and while I was there, I was so excited to see that the XYRON products have arrived!! I started designing a little make and take project for the launch on the plane this morning (in my notebook) and am about to have a little play around tonight! Looks like there are lots of you planning to come to the launch on Thursday, it's going to be GREAT!

I was shocked to see how much of the Letterpress product is gone already! BUT...You'll be happy to know that there is a ton of new product on it's way to the store this week including: new Making Memories Home Decor products (8" chipboard letters and kits); top up of Francheville Albums, refills and Panodia adhesives; AND finally BRAND NEW Rub-ons and Stickers in all the most popular themes. I might even receive some of the new stuff I ordered over the weekend (if we're really lucky)!

June 09, 2006

I've just had two of the most FANTASTIC days of classes at the Kidston Craft Spectacular!!!

I can't wait to show you all the cool projects I made in class and there are some amazing new EK Success products coming our way over the next few weeks and months (OMG - my visa has gone into complete meltdown!!). The first new product range that will be arriving in the next week or so is shadow box frames from Maple Lane Press. Wait 'til you see them, they are simply stunning! (I hear a class coming on!) AND the goodie bags we recieved were crammed full of so much product! I've never seen anything like it! The freebies were worth more than the price of my ticket!

We finished at 2.30 this afternoon and chelsea arrived at lunchtime, so I got to spend the rest of the day with the family. We took the City Cat ferry to Southbank and wondered through the gardens and Friday night market, then stopped for coffee at one of the riverside cafe's while Harry played in one of the playground.

After that we walked around to the exhibition centre and I registered for tomorrows classes. Can't believe the only person I ran into walking through the hallway was Michelle Hartjes!!! What a co-incidence! We plan to catch up some time tomorrow to discuss plans for the class she is coming to teach at the Boutique in September.

I'm so tired and I've got big blisters on my feet from walking around so much this afternoon (without socks - doh!) but I can't wait for tomorrows classes. I'm such a class groupie! I'll be taking classes from Daisy D's and Scenic Route on both days. Should be fabulous!! I'll keep you posted, but no photos yet - I didn't bring the cable for the camera so I can't upload them on the hotel internet service. Anyway at 50cents per minute I'm indulging myself by blogging - I figure it's worth it to keep in touch with my fans! LOL!

June 07, 2006

First there was last nights dramas. The whole family were supposed to have frequent flyer (d) up here with me, but Chelsea, dedicated ballet girl that she is nearly went into melt down when she realised she would be missing a stage rehearsal on Thursday night. SO....we have been calling and checking for flights at least twice a day for the past week, but of course being the long weekend, it seemed impossible. Then last night before Peter left to pick her up from class Qantas told him there was a flight at 8.05pm Thursday night. He didn't book it because the rehearsal was to finish at 7pm so no chance of making it to the airport in time. BUT when he told Miss Jo about it she was thrilled and said she would run Chelsea's section through early. THEN Peter rang Qantas to book the flight and they said there was a mistake, there were no seats available for Thursday night!!! (Doh!) Chelsea then began freaking out about it and we felt so bad for her. She decided she would miss the trip altogether, but she really wanted to come with us. Anyhoo (will this story ever end?) at MIDNIGHT we discovered a $190 one way fare to Brisbane on Friday and we booked it and cancelled her ff flight (lost 5000 points but they also refunded us $40 tax). Tonight she is being taken to Calisthenics and then staying the night with our good friends and neighbours, the Martins. Tomorrow night, she is going to the rehearsal straight from school and being picked up by Peters Mum and Dad, taken to their house for the night and driven to the airport on Friday. All of which was organised with several frantic phone calls at 8am this morning!!! So my poor little 14 year old baby is alone in the world and I don't think I will be able to relax properly 'til she is here with us.

Apart from that, we have had such a lovely afternoon in Brisbane! Our hotel (Mercure) is right on the river in the centre of town. We walked across to Southbank this afternoon and were blown away by how fabulous it is! We walked for ages (poor Peter was limping along on his grade 2 torn hammy the whole way) then we took a river cat taxi back to our hotel. So far my experience of Brisbane people is so FRIENDLY, everyone has been really helpful and has a smile on their face. The guy on the ferry didn't even bother selling us tickets and gave Harry a paper ferry cat model to make. I even got a round of applause for taking a photo by some derro in the park!

We are all stuffed full of room service dinner (burgers for the boys and club sandwich for me, all with fries of course).

Tomorrow I am off to day one of the Kidston Spectacular, Harry and Peter are planning to go to the science museum and to the beach at Southbank. The sun is actually warm here - it's amazing!

June 06, 2006

Okay, so that little comment about four boxes was a bit of a tease wasn't it?

One of the boxes just had alphabets in it! (how fun is that?!)

There are: Rub-ons and cardstock sticker alphabets from Artic Frog in the most delicious colors : Chipboard Chatter 2.5" letters by Pressed Petals that are self adhesive and distressable : Vellum sticker alphabets from SEI (an oldie but a goodie) : Heidi Swapp Chipboard sheets 'Center of Attention' in lime, pink & orange : too many alphabets to fit in one photo.

One of the other boxes was from SSS. It was very disappointing, apart from a few new ink pads and some foam dots, everything else was out of stock, so I didn't get any double sided tape and I'm so desperate for some, that tape is so cheap!

The other two boxes were from Kidston Craft, suppliers of EK Success products and hosts of one of the conventions I'm going to in Brisbane this week. The boxes are choc a block with lots of really cool new releases. The Letterpress range has some funky albums: wallet albums that look like a mans wallet : accordian tin albums that are in a round tin : 10x5" albums with ready made layouts inside (just add photos) : the snozberry tastes like snozberry! (having a willy wonka moment). There are also the most delightful 'debossed' (the opposite of embossed) papers, cardstock sticker accents and alphabets, all of which co-ordinate beautfully with the fabric tabs, 8x8 albums and letters too.

And Julia (our lovely work experience girl) has been busy putting up the Inspirables range. This range is eye-poppingly gorgeous!! There are chipboard, embroidered and canvas accents, clear overlay sticker alphabets (what a great invention) co-ordinating papers and the most delightful quilted fabric 8x8 albums. There are two stories in the line so far, feminine and celebrate and I think I will see some new themes in this range in the next couple of days.

Sorry for the lousy photo...I just ran out and took it quickly so you could have a peek.

AND be warned, the girls in this morning's class are already using some products from these new ranges on their layouts!

June 05, 2006

Soo living in the moment lately I never know what the date is and rarely read my mail on the day it's delivered. Unfortunately that little habit is starting to come up and bite me on the bum.

I'm flying up to Brisbane on Wednesday for a bit of a whirlwind trip. I'm going to the Kidston Craft Spectacular convention on Thursday and Friday, followed by the Australiasian Papercraft Convention on Saturday and Sunday.

Over the weekend I got all the paperwork out to check what I needed to pack for classes and I'd seen something about a competition at the Kidston Craft convention, so I wanted to check the details on that. The prize pool was huge so I was seriously laying awake in bed on Saturday night designing layouts in my head. Well....when I finally sat down to read through the details yesterday afternoon I discovered the competition entries had to be in by 1st June! Bugger! ('scuse me, but really!)

I also discovered that I was tagged by the gorgeous Cindy about a week and a half ago! So (better late than never) here goes.....

I AM: Still a blonde at heart

I WANT: A Mercedes Benz sports car

I HATE: Bananas, even the smell of them (blurk!)

I MISS: My Mum

I FEAR: Spiders and things that go bump in the night!

I HEAR: Best of Sting playing on the CD Player & the heater blasting.

I WONDER: If it will be warm in Brisbane this weekend (if I get to see the sunshine)

I REGRET: All those horrible words spoken in anger to my children and husband.

I AM NOT: good at math.

I DANCE: Around the living room with the kids and the dog whenever we are watching MTV or VHI and a good head-banging tune comes on.

I SING: ALL THE TIME - even when I don't mean to.

I CRY: At movies, when I hear beautiful music, if anyone else is crying etc...

I AM NOT ALWAYS: On time

I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: Art & (very occasionally) food

I WRITE: Notes, to do lists, doodles, memories, funny things the kids do and say.

I CONFUSE: the hell out of my husband!

I NEED: a haircut!! (& badly)

I SHOULD: be pricing all the new products that arrived this morning - 4 big boxes!